Ireland

The recent arrest of investigative journalists in Northern Ireland shows what is really meant by the “free press” under capitalism.

The massive vote to repeal the 8th amendment and introduce abortion rights marks another major turning point for all progressive forces in Ireland.

Voters in Ireland will have a chance on Friday to hit back against a key pillar of establishment.

The Good Friday Agreement was signed two decades ago, ending years of sectarian violence. But now the treaty is being trampled under foot by the narrow interests of cynical politicians on all sides.

Gerry Ruddy explains the history of the border in Ireland, and discusses the contradictions facing the governments in Britain and Ireland as a result of Brexit.

As Brexit negotiations grind to a halt, big business is entering panic mode. A no deal, “train-crash” Brexit – the one scenario that capitalism wants to avoid at all costs – looms large. And caught on the tracks is Ireland, the only country that shares a land border with the UK. Ben Curry looks at the the chaotic perspective facing Ireland, in the North and the South, as a result of Brexit and the global capitalist crisis.

Shortly after midday on 29^th June, an eleven person jury delivered 6 unanimous verdicts of “not guilty” to spontaneous cheers in the courtroom at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The verdict brings to its conclusion a trial by means of which the Irish ruling class sought to bring an end to the fundamental democratic right to peaceful protest.

110 years ago, in 1907, a strike in Belfast over wages by dockworkers, coal labourers and others united both catholics and protestants against the ruthless bosses. Although ultimately defeated, the strike remains an important historical demonstration of the power of the working class when united.

The power-sharing deal in the North of Ireland, established with the Good Friday Agreement, has broken down. The old system of rule no longer works, an indication of the pressures that flow from the economic crisis. Gerry Ruddy looks at why and how this has come about.

Bus drivers in Ireland have reacted to attacks by the bosses with fierce militancy. Their struggle is a clear indication of the anger building up across Ireland. As cracks open up in the Fine Gael-led coalition government over everything from water charges to police corruption, it is evident that this weak and divided government can be brought down.

Gerry Ruddy looks back at the life of Martin McGuinness, the former Provisional IRA leader, head of Sinn Féin in the North of Ireland, and Deputy First Minister in the Stormont Assembly, who passed away last week. McGuinness’ death comes at a turbulent time for the North of Ireland, as all the old divisions threaten to re-emerge in the wake of Brexit.

The elections on 2^nd March to the Northern Ireland Assembly have shattered all of the old certainties enshrined in the sectarian monolith established by the Good Friday Agreement. The elections have done nothing to shift the political deadlock, but have instead brought to the surface all of the contradictions in the North.